The Final Betrayal
by OpticalRacer
Summary: Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano is in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant when Palpatine issues Order 66 and sends Darth Vader to execute Operation: Knightfall. What happens next seals the fates of both the young Togruta and her former mentor. Rated T for violence similar to RotS, and for tragic events. This is my first submission, reviews are always welcome. Thanks!
1. Part One

**The Final Betrayal – The Fate of Ahsoka Tano**

_(author's note: I own nothing in the Star Wars universe - it all belongs to George Lucas)**  
**_

* * *

Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano was recently reassigned to a new master after having served under Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars.

The end of the Jedi Order is eminent as Chancellor Palpatine sets his plans into motion after the murder of Jedi Master Mace Windu and Anakin's final turn to the Dark Side of the Force.

Even as these events transpire, Ahsoka is in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, unaware of the impending doom about to befall the Jedi Order…

* * *

**Part One**

Inside her quarters in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Ahsoka Tano gathered her gear as she prepared for her next mission with her master, Ta'ura Thennal. Ahsoka had been serving with Master Thennal for several months, assigned to humanitarian missions on worlds recently re-captured for the Republic.

Ahsoka had just completed her first mission with Master Thennal, who was a very good mentor for the young Togruta. Ta'ura was a Lethan Twi'lek, a few years older than Obi-wan Kenobi. While she had respectable skill with a lightsaber, her real talents lay outside of the realm of combat and she served as a Jedi Diplomat.

The Jedi Master understood that her new Padawan needed some time to adjust to her new assignment after having served on the front lines of the Clone Wars. Ahsoka had begun to display symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from her combat experiences, so the High Council felt that assigning her to a non-combat position was a good change for her.

The Padawan found her new duties boring compared to the intense combat missions she participated in with her former master Anakin Skywalker. But she tried to remember that it was as much an important part of her training as combat. Given Ahsoka's exceptional record of service and performance, she was likely to ascend to the rank of Jedi Knight soon.

Ahsoka thought, _I wonder what we'll be doing this time._ Humanitarian missions covered a wide spectrum of duties. So far, she and Master Thennal helped rebuild a town, ensuring people got the essential supplies they needed and provided the locals with a stronger sense of security.

By the time she and her master arrived, the fighting was over and most of the clone troopers were gone. The Jedi worked together with the local populace to restore the governing infrastructure and return to some semblance of normality in the aftermath of war.

* * *

After Ahsoka finished packing her bag, she grabbed her two lightsabers. During the war, she perfected the Shien reverse grip form of lightsaber combat even though Anakin insisted she use the standard grip instead. Later on, she also learned the Jar'Kai method, which allowed her to wield a second lightsaber. These skills made her quite a formidable fighter despite her young age. Ahsoka attached her weapons to her belt, grabbed her rucksack and left her quarters.

Ahsoka was going to meet Master Thennal to board their Consular-class cruiser bound for their latest mission. The Padawan hummed a pleasant song to herself as she walked down the wide hall. It was a tune that Master Plo Koon taught her not long after he brought her to the Temple when she was very small. Those fond memories always gave her a warm and peaceful feeling.

Suddenly, Ahsoka felt an unpleasant ripple in the Force and stopped mid-walk and -song. She tried to focus on the sensation, but it had quickly passed. The young Togruta figured it was another mental aftershock from the effects of serving in the war. She started walking again.

Even though numerous Jedi were spread throughout the galaxy leading clone squads in the wars, there were still many Jedi present in the Temple. Ahsoka passed numerous other Jedi in the halls as she made her way to the landing platform. She would nod to some of them or say 'hi' as she passed by. Some she was familiar with, but many she didn't know well if at all.

It was a typical day at the Temple. It was the hub of Jedi activity through which great numbers passed between missions. Even several masters from the High Council were out serving the Republic on the front lines leading legions of clone troops.

Just as she recovered from the disturbance in the Force, Ahsoka heard the unmistakable sounds of blaster fire and lightsaber ignitions. She dropped her rucksack and ran top speed towards the noise.

Ahsoka rounded a corner and stopped cold in her tracks. Before her, she saw several Jedi lying dead on the floor. Just past the fallen knights, she saw a squad of clone troopers from the 501st Legion. They had their weapons out, scanning their surroundings.

Ahsoka nervously called out to the troopers. "Hey there! What the hell's going on here?"

The clone troops turned to face in the direction of Ahsoka's voice. She could hear one of the clones say through the speaker in his helmet, "there's another one! Blast her!"

The clones immediately loosed a heavy concentration of blaster fire in Ahsoka's direction. With no time to think, the young Togruta jumped back and around the corner away from her attackers. She drew both her lightsabers and ignited them. She held them ready for battle and looked back down the main hall she came from.

Ahsoka noticed that the hall was now deserted. She could hear sounds of combat elsewhere in the Temple. The fire from her attackers past the corner ceased. Breathing heavily, she slowly peered back around the corner. She saw the troops running toward her. She turned and ran back down the wide empty hall.

Panicked thoughts raced through Ahsoka's mind as she ran away as fast as she could. _Why are they attacking Jedi?_ Her thoughts flashed to the time she and Barriss Offee were attacked by clone troopers who were infected with Geonosian brain worms, but shook herself back to the present situation. Somehow, this time was different.

The clones from the 501st rounded the corner behind Ahsoka and resumed their onslaught. Without looking back, she used her Force-augmented reflexes to avoid their blasts as she ran from them.

Ahsoka's first thought was to turn and engage her pursuers, but given that they were apparently able to take down the Jedi back there she changed her mind. _I've got to get to my master and the ship! We have to escape with any Jedi we find alive!_

Despite Ahsoka's incredible skills, it took all she had to evade the clones' attack. She pushed more speed into her run until she came to a corridor junction. She quickly turned into an intersecting corridor. She couldn't quite navigate the turn all the way and slid, painfully smashing her shoulder into the corridor's wall as she entered. While she was safe from her attackers for the moment, she did not slow her run nor extinguish her sabers.

Ahsoka sped by more of her fallen comrades along the corridor as she continued to flee. She had to put aside the pain she felt at the sight of the dead Jedi in order focus on her survival and that of any others she might meet up with.

As she approached another intersection, Ahsoka's Force-enhanced senses fired off a warning signal of danger in her mind. Sure enough, a clone trooper stepped out into the corridor in front of her and began firing at her. Ahsoka juked side to side, avoiding the blasts as she barreled down on her assailant. She brought up one lightsaber and deftly decapitated the trooper as she ran by.

* * *

Ahsoka continued to make her way towards the landing platform where Master Thennal should be waiting for her. Ahsoka hoped that she would find her master alive, waiting for her to arrive and escape together.

The young Togruta came around another corner and found three Jedi facing another squad of clones. The knights fought valiantly as they managed to take down a few of the clones, but they were still greatly outnumbered. Ahsoka joined the fray.

None of the Jedi said anything to each other as they fought side-by-side for their very lives. One Jedi, a lupine Shistavanen male, managed to violently Force-push a trooper into some of his squad mates. But it gave another trooper just enough time to draw up a bead on the Jedi and he fired, hitting the Shistavanen squarely in the chest.

Ahsoka yelled to her compatriots, "let's charge 'em!"

The other two Jedi nodded to her and the trio ran at the clones, parrying the blaster fire. A couple of troopers fell to deflected blasts as the Jedi approached them.

Ahsoka launched into a spin as she approached the nearest clones. She easily sliced through two of the soldiers and pushed on.

One of Ahoska's fellow Jedi, a female Mirialan, leaned into her run and impaled her saber through a clone's abdomen. She was cut down by another clone only a moment after.

The third Jedi, a young male human Padawan, valiantly slashed at his attackers and managed to cut through three troopers until he too was gunned down.

Ahsoka watched the other Jedi fall as she pushed through the squad of troops. She decided to not look back when she cleared the other side of the enemy. As she continued to run, the clone troops did not pursue. Instead, they lobbed thermal detonators toward her.

The charges exploded right behind the Togruta and the force of the blasts threw her to the floor. Without missing a heartbeat, she scrambled to her feet and kept running.

Ahsoka could just hear one of the clones say behind her, "let her go, she won't get far!"

* * *

Sounds of intense combat now filled the halls of the Temple. Ahsoka saw more and more fallen Jedi and clones as she ran. There was tell-tale damage throughout the hall resulting from the fierce fighting. Debris was scattered across the hall's floors. Lung-stinging smoke began to fill the air.

Ahsoka approached each intersection with extreme caution. While she was terrified by what was happening, her state of mind was that of a wild animal ready to fight to the death, predator against predator.

Ahsoka continued to push on, making her way toward the landing platform where she was to meet Master Thennal. Ahsoka fought hard to keep up the hope that she would see her alive, but with all of the unbelievable death and destruction around her she could no longer be certain of anything.

Along her route to the platform, Ahsoka came across random individual clone troopers and dispatched them with ease.

* * *

Ahsoka finally arrived at the door of the landing platform. She stopped just inside of the open door and checked up and down the hall. The floors were strewn with dead Jedi and clones alike, but the young Togruta was the only living being in sight. There was no sign of her master.

Breathing heavily and with her sabers at the ready, Ahsoka slowly peered around the doorway out towards the platform outside. Deathly chills ran down her spine and she audibly gasped.

What remained of their Republic consular cruiser was a tremendous pile of burning rubble on the landing pad suspended countless meters above the planet surface. The ship's crew inside were likely dead. Then what Ahsoka saw next caused her heart to drop to the floor.

Trembling, she whispered, "no…"

Ahsoka ran along the narrow walkway towards the pad to a motionless figure lying several meters in front of her. It was her master, Ta'ura Thennal.

Ahsoka extinguished her lightsabers and knelt down over her fallen master. Ta'ura was clearly dead, her body riddled with blaster wounds. Her saber lay on the walkway nearby. Ahsoka tried her best to hold back her tears, but could not.

Ahsoka lifted her face to the darkening sky. "MASTER!"

Frantically, the Padawan took her master in her arms. "Master Thennal, Master Thennal! Ta'ura!"

Ahsoka held her master in her lap; her bitter tears fell to Ta'ura's crimson face like rain. Ahsoka gently rocked her back and forth and stroked one of the Twi'lek's head-tails.

More sounds of combat could be heard from within the Jedi Temple, and smoke and flames could be seen pouring out of the vast structure. Ahsoka looked all around her with several emotions swirling within her. Sadness, anger, fear, confusion all intertwined inside her mind. The maelstrom in her psyche threatened to shut her down. She summoned all of her mental strength to keep herself together and not give in to those feelings. She had to find a way to escape and hopefully regroup with any other survivors.

Ahsoka gently lay Ta'ura's body down and respectfully put the master's lightsaber in her hands crossed on her chest.

A warning of danger fired through Ahsoka's Force-augmented senses. She instantly brandished her lightsabers and spun around just as more clone troopers from the 501st opened fire from the Temple entrance behind her. She sprang up and deflected her attackers' blasts back at them, picking the troopers off one by one. She stood panting on the walkway with her reverse-gripped sabers at the ready as more troopers streamed out from the Temple.

Ahsoka muttered to herself, "You've got to be kidding me…"

The troopers prepared to open fire on the lone Jedi. Ahsoka responded by lowering her stance, ready to spring at an instant's notice. Then she heard a voice that sounded familiar, yet strange.

"Wait, Captain! Leave her to me!"

The clone captain answered, "Yes, my lord." The clone troopers of the 501st Legion stood down and stepped aside.

A cloaked, dark figure emerged from the squad. Ahsoka kept her ready stance as the newcomer steadily approached her.

Ahsoka tried to make out the face of the man from under his hood. "Stop right there! Who are you?"

The figure said nothing and continued to advance.

"I'm warning you! Stop!" Ahsoka tightened her grip on her lightsabers' hilts.

The mysterious person walked a few paces towards Ahsoka and then stopped. "It's good to see you again… _Snips_…"


	2. Part Two

**The Final Betrayal – The Fate of Ahsoka Tano**

**Part Two**

* * *

Ahsoka's heart dropped into her stomach and her eyes were as wide as the full moons of Coruscant. "M-master A-Anakin?"

He started toward her again and lowered the hood of his cloak. It was Anakin, but also wasn't. The look in his face was not quite right. His eyes no longer shone a bright blue, but rather seemed to peer out from within deep black holes. His face, framed by his long locks of dark hair, seemed to belong to someone else. Any youthful appearance he once had was since replaced with a harsh darkness lined with razor-sharp iciness.

"That's right Snips. I see you have done well for yourself since we parted ways. I'm very impressed with your skills, as always." He spoke with very little emotion. Even his voice didn't sound quite like his own.

Ahsoka pursed her lips, trying to keep them from trembling. "W-what's going on here?" Her eyes quickly shot from Anakin to the troopers and back to Anakin.

Anakin continued to slowly walk towards his former apprentice. "A changing of the guard, Snips. The time has come to clean out the refuse and usher in a new order."

"What do you mean?"

"The Jedi Order has been found to be corrupted my dear apprentice."

"What?"

"Yes, Master Windu just tried to assassinate the Chancellor. He wanted to wrest control of the Senate from Palpatine so the Jedi could take control over the Republic. He almost succeeded, until I arrived."

Ahsoka was astonished. "That's impossible!" Before she realized it, Anakin now stood right before her and she had lowered her lightsabers to her sides, mesmerized by his words.

"It's true, Snips. Master Windu led some of the other Jedi masters to the Chancellor's office and tried to kill him. They wanted to undo all that Palpatine had done for the Republic and re-shape the galaxy into one easy for the Jedi to rule with their pompous self-righteousness!"

"I-I don't believe it…"

"Search your feelings Snips; you will know it is true. But the Chancellor is now restoring order and stability to the Republic, no thanks to the Jedi!"

With Anakin referring to her as 'Snips' in amongst all of the crazy talk, Ahsoka became very unnerved. This was what he wanted. He knew she had developed PTSD from her years of service in the war and exploited her condition. He gave his former Padawan a sinister smile.

Ahsoka continued to step away from Anakin, but did not raise her weapons. "Y-you're wrong! The Jedi have long kept peace and order throughout the galaxy in selfless service to the Republic." She paused with a thought that she did not want to speak, not to him. But she could not keep it inside. "The Chancellor must be the corrupt one!"

Anakin's face distorted with anger and he lunged at Ahsoka with a growl. She raised her lightsabers up crossed in defense, but did not try to attack him. He stopped short and again smiled, the anger gone from his countenance.

"It's okay, you're just confused," Anakin said calmly. "It's understandable. The Jedi Council wanted it that way, so they could have your undying loyalty."

Anakin began to step forward again. Ahsoka felt her spirit falter. He fed on her weakness. "Now, my dear Snips, put your weapons away and come with me. I will show you the error of the Order's ways. You can once again become my apprentice, and I can teach you the true power of the Force; the power that the Jedi Order kept from you."

Ahsoka now began to feel the Dark Side of the Force swell around her former master as she continued to step back away from him. There was nowhere for her to run. The walkway was only three meters wide and hundreds of meters above the planet surface. The landing pad was filled with the burning remains of her consular ship. The entrance back into the Temple was filled with numerous clone troopers, who were watching the whole spectacle. Anakin extended his gloved, mechanical hand toward Ahsoka.

Anakin felt the fear welling up inside of Ahsoka. "Come with me. Together we can unlock your full potential."

Ahsoka continued to shy away from Anakin. She shook her head. "No… Please leave me alone…"

Anakin feigned confusion and concern for his former Padawan. "But why, Snips? I only want the best for you."

Ahsoka could feel the blackness grow around him and she began to tremble all over. As she continued to slowly step backwards, she carefully passed by Master Thennal's body. Ahsoka did not take her eyes off of Anakin for even a moment. "You only want me to follow the dark path of the Force. Palpatine is the mysterious Sith behind everything, isn't he?"

Anakin continued to step towards the retreating Padawan. He stopped next to Master Thennal's body. His eyes narrowed as if they were burning a hole through Ahsoka's soul. "Your insight serves you well, my apprentice. You'll see this is how things were meant to be. The Republic has failed the galaxy for far too long, thanks to its dependence on the Jedi. The time has come for the Sith to regain control and restore proper order to the galaxy."

Ahsoka grew angrier with every word Anakin spoke. "You mean _oppression_!"

Anakin laughed. "Only for those who refuse to play by the rules, Snips."

Ahsoka gritted her teeth. "Don't…Call…Me…Snips!"

"Ahh, are we getting snippy again, my apprentice?"

"Only my master Anakin can call me 'Snips'! I don't care who you look like! You are _not_ Anakin!"

Anakin rubbed his chin as if he thought deeply about her words. "I suppose you're correct. I am Vader. _Darth_ Vader."

* * *

Ahsoka's blood ran icy cold with Anakin's words. He had become a Sith Lord after all. She stopped her retreat and extinguished her lightsabers in utter despair. Her arms hung limp at her sides.

Vader reveled in the feelings he sensed in his former Padawan. "Yes. That's a good girl. Now come with me and we will eliminate the last remains of the traitorous Jedi scum from the galaxy!"

Tears welled up in Ahsoka's eyes and she looked down at her master's lifeless body at Vader's feet. His words bit hard at her very being, and she hated him for what he had done. She hated him for his ultimate betrayal. Ahsoka looked up and gave Vader a tearful, bitter scowl.

Vader spoke, almost inaudibly. "Yes, my apprentice. Good… Feel the power growing within you…"

Through trembling lips and gritted teeth, Ahsoka snarled. "Damn you. DAMN YOU!"

In response, Vader laughed and brutally kicked Master Thennal's body over the edge of the walkway to fall to the planet surface far below.

Ahsoka screamed. "NO!" She ignited both of her lightsabers and flew at Vader in an absolute rage.

Vader waited until the very last moment to ignite his saber to parry Ahsoka's attack. His blade stopped hers mere centimeters from his face. The duel had begun.

* * *

The action was almost too fast to watch. Every slash, thrust and swing by each combatant was parried, dodged or reversed by the other. Darth Vader and Ahsoka Tano used every centimeter of the walkway in their fight. They leapt high in the air and their lightsabers tangled in bright flashes of blue and green.

The troopers from the 501st dared not to approach the scene; they stayed right at the entrance of the Temple and watched the fight with great interest. They took bets – not on who would win, but how long Ahsoka would last against Vader.

Ahsoka and Vader continued their deadly dance. Slowly, Vader pushed his young opponent back towards the landing pad, which was filled with the remains of the destroyed cruiser. Ahsoka realized what he was trying to do, but every time she'd try to gain any ground he'd push her back even more. If she could just get past him, it wouldn't be too hard for her to plow right through the troopers gathered at the doorway to the Temple. With each passing minute Ahsoka grew more angry and frustrated.

Darth Vader continued to soak up the dark feelings he sensed in his former Padawan. It only made him stronger. He pressed Ahsoka further back towards the mountain of burning debris that was once a starship. They passed into the diameter of the round landing pad and the Sith lord stopped his advance. The heat from the burning wreckage lapped at Ahsoka's back as she stood in front of him out of breath. The world around her seemed to lose all color.

Vader again stretched out his hand. "I hope you see, my dear Ahsoka, that it would be folly for you to continue down this path. Put your weapons down and come back with me. You know it's your destiny." His hooded cloak flapped energetically in the wind like a symbolic flag of the new Sith Order.

Conflicting thoughts raced through Ahsoka's mind. She could go with Vader and then kill him when the moment presented itself. Or she could just kill herself and end the pain once and for all, for there was no more hope left anyway. Or she could fight with all the strength she had left, to avenge all of her Jedi brothers and sisters who have fallen to this devastating betrayal. She knew these were all paths that led to the dark side, which scared her since no other options came to her.

Vader sensed the conflict within the young Jedi. He inhaled deeply as if to breathe in the very essence of her anger, despair and vengeance. The power of the dark side of the Force only grew within him as he ingested those sensations. The effects were intoxicating.

Then Ahsoka did something he did not anticipate.

The young Togruta quickly scrambled up the smoldering pile of wreckage to a nearby pinnacle, careful to avoid any open flames. Her actions both surprised and amused Vader immensely. _What are you trying to do, Snips?_ He thought to himself.

In the instant Vader allowed himself to be distracted, Ahsoka attacked.

Using the Force, she flung large pieces of the wreckage at Darth Vader. He could not quite leap out of the way of the first jumbled mass. It struck him hard in the side and knocked him over. He rolled back up on his feet just in time to bring his lightsaber up to vertically slice through a second heap that flew right at him. The split halves continued on their trajectory past him.

A third piece came at Vader, but this time he stretched out with the Force and stopped it mid-air. He could feel Ahsoka pushing hard on the piece as he held it in place. Vader was very impressed with her abilities. He knew that she hadn't seen real combat since they last saw each other, but here she demonstrated that she could still full-well hold her own.

Vader put forth more effort and managed to push Ahsoka's would-be projectile away. With the shift in momentum, she nearly lost her balance atop the mountain of twisted metal. Vader stared up at Ahsoka, and she down at him. His evil expression melted her spirit like the debris she stood upon.

There was not a single part of Ahsoka that was not shaking. She felt like saying something to Vader, no, to Anakin, but she knew that words were of no good anymore. They both were past the point of no return. She refused to deny being a Jedi, and he was determined to destroy them all. The years they spent together as Master and Padawan seemed like a cruel illusion to her.

At the top of his voice, Darth Vader called out. "This is your last chance, Ahsoka! Your fate is in your own hands! You will live, or you will die!"

He paused, thinking that she would respond. He grew impatient when she didn't. "It's your choice!"

Ahsoka had no more tears. She had no more hope. She had no more strength. She had no more options. Anakin had fallen to the dark side of the Force and she was the only one left to stop him.

With lightning-speed, Ahsoka flung herself down the hill of debris straight for her former master with her sabers blazing. "Go to hell!"

Her move would have been much too fast for a clone trooper to properly react, but she wasn't up against a mere clone. She was facing the Chosen One, quite possibly the most powerful Jedi ever, who was now a Sith lord.

So powerful was Vader, that he simply raised his left hand towards Ahsoka and unleashed a barrage of Sith lightning. She was struck by the lightning mid-air and fell to the landing pad in a convulsing heap with residual electrical arcs dancing around her body.

Slowly, Ahsoka pushed herself up and repeated, "go… to… HELL!"

Ahsoka again lunged towards Darth Vader and once more he blasted her. She spilled onto the deck and convulsed even more. Her clothes and body were singed from his attacks. She tried to speak but could only whimper.

Vader walked up to Ahsoka and stood over her. She lay sprawled out on her belly, barely able to move. She tried to get up, but her body just could not respond to her will. She whimpered once more.

Darth Vader knelt down over Ahsoka and lifted her head up so he could look her in the eye. He regarded her for a moment and grinned. She looked barely alive.

"If that's where I'm going, my _former_ apprentice, then you're going to show me the way."

Suddenly, with one final desperate push of strength, Ahsoka Force-pulled one of her lightsabers back into her hand and ignited it. She screamed and swung her blade at Vader. He leapt back just beyond the reach of her attack. Reflexively, he unleashed an even more powerful blast of Force lightning upon her.

Ahsoka cried out in utter agony as her body was pierced by countless fingers of electrical energy. Vader poured all of his anger into his counterattack and the lightning glowed much brighter with the surge in power.

The Dark Side energy flew unceasingly from Vader's fingertips. Ahsoka was completely helpless to his attack, and she continued to scream in torturous pain as her body was continuously bombarded by the electrical energy. She wanted to beg Vader to stop, but was unable to.

Deathly hatred shone from Vader's face as he continued his assault upon Ahsoka. He hated the Jedi. He hated them for not recognizing his full potential. He hated them for their lies. He hated them for betraying him. He had hoped that Ahsoka was not one of them.

Vader did not stop his attack until Ahsoka ceased to cry out.

* * *

Ahsoka lay motionless on the landing pad. Wisps of smoke gently rose from her unmoving form and blew away in the wind.

Vader remained where he stood for a moment and took a deep breath. He stared at his former Padawan laying lifelessly on the platform. His expression of anger gradually became one of cold neutrality. He felt a sense of satisfaction that another Jedi was dead. However, deep inside and barely perceptible, the Anakin who used to be was filled with profoundly intense grief and guilt. The pain of what he had done only further strengthened the grip the Dark Side had on him. Vader slowly walked over to where Ahsoka's body lay.

The Dark Lord of the Sith knelt down and gently picked up Ahsoka, and carried her in his arms back towards the Temple and the waiting troops from the 501st Legion. They couldn't believe what they just witnessed. It was one thing to see Darth Vader slaughter the random Jedi he came across, but to watch him kill Commander Tano, his former apprentice, was unexpectedly shocking. The troopers silently stepped aside as Vader carried Ahsoka back into the Temple.

* * *

The siege on the Jedi Temple was over. Much of the Temple was in flames and thick black smoke filled the twilight sky. Every Jedi encountered by Darth Vader and the clone troopers was killed. The troopers began the task of dragging all of the dead Jedi out of the Temple and piled their bodies up outside of the main entrance. There they made a pyre for all of the Coruscanti public to see. The newly-created Galactic Empire would report over the Holonet News that the Jedi Order had betrayed the Republic and were dealt with accordingly.

* * *

Darth Vader did not carry Ahsoka out to be burned with the other fallen Jedi. Instead, he alone took her to a hidden garden that the Jedi had used for meditation and reflection. It had miraculously remained untouched by the fighting. It was a beautiful, peaceful place with trees, grass and a small pond with a waterfall. The garden was rich with the living Force, though Vader could no longer feel it.

The thick smoke that billowed out of the Temple above blocked the low light of the waning day, leaving the garden dimly lit. There, Vader dug a grave for Ahsoka and gently placed her inside with her lightsabers in her hands crossed over her chest.

Vader stood silently next to the open grave for several moments, as if to give an unspoken eulogy for a true heroine of the Republic. Though she was burned by Vader's lethal attack, Ahsoka looked peaceful and dignified as she lay there.

As Vader filled the grave, Ahsoka slowly disappeared beneath the cool, soft soil. When he was done, he carefully replaced the grass over the top of the grave in order to conceal it. There, she would lay undisturbed. Vader would make certain that the garden would remain unspoiled and intact, no matter what happened to the rest of the Temple.

Once more, Darth Vader stood next to Ahsoka's grave for a few silent moments before leaving the garden. A single tear slowly streamed down his scarred cheek as he re-entered the Temple.

* * *

Vader returned to the main entrance of the Temple where he met his master Darth Sidious, the Emperor Palpatine. Vader received his orders to go to the volcanic planet Mustafar. There he was to kill the Separatist leaders, thereby ending the war and sealing the Empire's control of the galaxy.

The Emperor watched with a wicked smile of satisfaction as his loyal servant departed for his next assignment…


End file.
